Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week.
By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Medicine in the Middle Ages wasn’t the greatest: the leeches, the dirt, that whole four-humors thing. And yet physicians from all over the world made heroic efforts to develop and share their knowledge. Here, we’ve gathered some of our favorite historical anatomical drawings, which medieval and early modern doctors made from dissections of both animals and human cadavers. The drawings show amusing inaccuracies, impressive detail, and the apparently universal drive to give anatomical drawings weird facial expressions.
By Hans von Gersdorff, from a 1528 edition of his work. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.By Bartholomeo Eustachi, first published in 1564. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.Adriaan van de Spiegel and Giulio Cesare Casseri, 1626. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.By Amé Bourdon, first published in 1678. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.By anonymous, published circa 1680-1750. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.By Hua Shou, 1716. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.By William Cheselden, first published 1733. Hosted online by the National Library of Medicine.
